Victorious, in these semi-finals on Wednesday (8 November) evening were China and Korea – who wll now go on to compete for gold medals, in Erina Ice Arena, on Australia’s Central Coast, on Thursday (9 November) afternoon at 14:00 – live on national broadcasters and World Curling TV (geo-blocking applies).

These teams also guarantee their place in the World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 to be held in Las Vegas, United States, from 31 March to 8 April. There is one more place left for that event, with the winner of bronze medals, also qualifying. The bronze medal game will also be at 14:00 on Thursday and will be between Japan and hosts Australia.

Korea won their semi-final, against previously unbeaten Japan, 8-7, after the full ten ends. Meanwhile. China stole a single point, in an extra end, against the hosts, Australia, 7-6.

Korea, did not find themselves ahead on the scoreboard, until the seventh end of their game against Japan. Japanese skip Yusuke Morozumi, missed his attempt at a hit and roll for two points in the sixth end, handing his opponents a single point to level the scores at 5-5. Then, again in the seventh end Morozumi missed his final shot, this time giving Korea two points and a 7-5 lead.

Japan, managed to bring the score back to 7-7 again, but with the hammer going into the tenth and final end, Korea’s skip Chang-Min Kim ensured his team scored the one point needed to win, 8-7.

The second semi-final between Australia and China was just as dramatic. China had managed to build a 5-2 lead after six ends. However, when China’s skip Dejia Zou chipped a guard on his final draw in the eighth end, he handed Australia two points and a 6-5 lead.

Australia then managed to contain a Chinese attack in the tenth, forcing them to score only one point, which levelled the scores and gave the home team the hammer in the extra end. However, Australia’s fourth player Dean Hewitt wasn’t able to make the draw with his final stone, giving China the win, 6-7.

The next live game, on national broadcasters and World Curling TV (note geo-blocking may apply), at these championships will be the women’s gold medal game between Korea and Japan men at 09:00, on Thursday morning.

All times in this report are Australia Eastern Daylight Time, which is +11 hours from Greenwich Mean Time.

They said it

Dejia Zou; skip, China (after 7-6 extra end semi-final win over Australia): “I am so happy for the team because this is our goal. We want to get the spots for the next worlds. I have been working hard for years – more than 17 years – to be on this ice and play this game.”

Chang-Min Kim; skip, Korea (after 8-7 semi-final win over Korea): “We also scored three points in the round-robin against Japan, but there were so many mistakes. But, this time we were supporting each other and there was lots of talk and this turned around the game. I played four times world juniors, but never world championships, so I am very excited and will do my best.”

Curling fans around the world will be able to follow live coverage of these championships via the World Curling Federation’s broadcast partners in China (CCTV), Japan (NTV), Korea (SpoTV), Hong Kong (i-Cable), New Zealand (Sky), USA (NBC) and the Olympic Channel. Coverage will also be available on the event website and the World Curling Federation’s YouTube Channel, www.youtube.com/WorldCurlingTV

To keep up-to-date with all the action from these championships, and the teams’ journey to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, follow us on Twitter, Instagram (@worldcurling) and Facebook (/WorldCurlingFederation) and use the hashtags: #PACC2017 #curling